Though Christopher
Durang is widely regarded as one of the funniest writers of his generation,
he has never been popular with the faint of heart. So, if you're here
for a gentle evening of civilized discourse, you might be in the wrong
place. If, on the other hand, you have a wicked sense of humor and a willingness
to question our most sacred institutions, you should be in for a fun-and
sometimes moving-ride.

Durang has called The Marriage of Bette and Boo his favorite of all his
plays, and I share his affection for the piece. Sure, I share with him
a distaste for rigid gender roles and authoritarian dogma, but mainly
I love the play because it makes me laugh at the same time that it takes
me close to tears. Like Chekhov, who you'll have the chance to enjoy later
in the season with John Friedenberg's production of The Cherry Orchard,
Durang weaves together the tragic and the comic with great skill. I believe
this duality is a natural part of human life, and it's certainly a part
of the sources he draws on in Bette & Boo-among them family life,
religious questioning, and the novels of Thomas Hardy.
Durang, who raised the ire of American Catholics with his controversial
play, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You, is at it again in
Bette & Boo, as Father Donnelly's insensitivity, racism, and lack
of flexibility make him a problematic spiritual guide for the title characters.
Ultimately, though, I find this a very forgiving play that in the end
makes room for love and even religion, at the same time that it raises
important ideological questions. Durang notes that some people have dismissed
this play as too angry, and responds, "I don't agree with them and
feel they may be denying something I've found to be true: that unless
you go through all the genuine angers you feel, both justified and unjustified,
the feelings of love that you do have will not have any legitimate base
and will be at least partially false. Plus, eventually you will go crazy."
Maybe being okay with the lunacy in our families is as simple as admitting
that our lives are all a little crazy-that the world is sometimes incomprehensible
and insane-and that sometimes the best we can do is to laugh-or cry-or
both.

In any case, I hope this evening in the theatre reminds you to think often
and fondly of the people in your own families-traditional or untraditional,
sane or otherwise.